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Weekly Ramble #17

I’m quitting social media. I’ve concluded the world was a much simpler and pleasant place without the social ramifications and expectations that the likes of Facebook carry. Technology has leaped in recent years mostly for the better but social media in most parts is spiraling this world and its inhabitants into a blind depression. Nobody every turned around and thought about whether they should have created social media, they just did it.

The likes of Zuckerberg ignored the social responsibility of creating a network that is driven by people participation who are constantly on the look out for likes and instant gratification. This is a future that some always predicted, a future where people are controlled and most of the time unknowingly, its bleak. We as a race are addicted and reliant on screen scrolling and nobody ever thinks about whether it enriches anyone and this is the crushing realization for some, it doesn’t enrich, it stifles us. Social media fosters depression, it creates negative feelings of emptiness by filling us up with false hope that everyone is going to like that heavily staged photo or attention fishing post.

Most of you will look at this with a sideways glance, that’s because you probably haven’t ever thought about it or you haven’t had that moment of clarity yet but you are addicted to scrolling. You can’t not look away, even when nothing is happening you are scrolling. We were never built for this, social media is just a symptom of technology, and technology is in fact a symptom of corporations. This isn’t a ‘down with the corporations’ protest piece, its reality knocking at the door. We as a people are regressing because of this and there are generations of kids who are becoming more and more depressed because they are trying to conform on the internet. We never had this problem before because social media didn’t have the power, now it does and its dangerously damaging.

When was the last time you scrolled on Facebook or twitter? Probably minutes ago, and it will be just as long until you do it again. How long could you stay off it? Would you even miss it? These are questions I found myself easily answering without remorse. No I wouldn’t miss it because I am on the verge having enough of emptily scrolling. Above all I have had enough of creating posts that nobody looks at, I’m a writer, I write books and plays, I struggle enough in getting people to read my art and quite frankly fuck putting up posts for nobody to look at, that’s not what I am on this planet to do. I am here to create, I am here to build worlds and immerse people in them, I am not here to give a shit about how many empty likes my last Instagram photo had. My energy in life is not aimed at shitty social media, a thing quite frankly I could live without and a thing I will thrive without. I implore you to consider doing the same, use your time wisely, use your time for something else, enrich your mind and read a book instead, buy one of mine, I guarantee they will put you in a better mood than any scrolling ever will, go for a walk, take in some the fresh air, take a drive, speak to real people and for the love of god do something better with your time.

As of now I have deleted my Facebook app on my phone. I still look at it every now and then but not constantly anymore. I deleted the twitter app a month ago but again the same applies. I’m not fully leaving and can still be contacted, I’m just reducing my presence for sanity. Next month I will be going dark for a while. This won’t have any effect on my career as a writer, I will always be writing.